An Emotional Approach
by insert.word
Summary: An experience in feelings.


**Fear**

She is five and she feels it crawl up her spine and settle in her stomach like a lead ball. She watches, wide eyed, as her beloved daddy and mommy scream in each other's faces; each spitting mad and snarling about failure and respect. Her mother gestures to the two girls that cower in the hallway, huddled together in fear, and the woman has an air of desperation to her as she pleads with her husband to spare their daughters. Spare them from what, the little girl does not know, but her shoulders shake in terror and she wants to cry; can feel the treacherous tears that press up hard against the back of her eyes. But intuitively, she knows that will only make things **worse** (_"Tears are a __sign of weakness girl. And being weak will get you killed.__"_). So she presses back into the wall, clutching her ragged old teddy and prays that this nightmare ends soon.

* * *

**Sorrow**

She is nine and cannot stifle the sorrowful sob that tears itself from her throat, watching from the window as Jade disappears from sight. She wants her sister to turn back, to climb up the fire escape and appear before her with that infuriating grin that is just so _**Jade**_. She wants her sister to laugh and give her a shove, tell Artemis that she was _kidding_; of course she's going to bring along her little sister. But deep down she knows that Jade is **gone**. _She isn't coming back. _And she is left here, with _Dad. _Her family has shattered apart, like the delicate crystal vase her mother treasured so (until Artemis had accidentally bumped it from its' pedestal): a thousand glittering, sharp edged pieces scattered among the hardwood floor: unfixable. Tears stream down her face and the unmistakable weight of grief settles upon her shoulders as she mourns the loss of something she's never even had.

* * *

**Rage**

She is eleven and seething. Red obscures her vision and for a moment, she feels ready to do what her father has been training her for, her entire life. Adrenaline pulses through her veins and she draws an arrow, prepared to skewer the sniveling coward that whimpers before her. Her father is beside her, radiating silent pride and hungrily waiting for his daughter to deliver the killing shot. _"He put your mom in that wheelchair, Artemis. He hurt her and then disgraced her by getting her sent to prison. We need to make sure he pays baby girl." _She is hurt and **so full of anger** and she just wants to make someone pay. But a voice in the back of her mind whispers that she is on the precipice of a very dangerous path that she isn't quite sure she wants to take. But all the mad takes over, blotting out everything, and she looses the arrow without another thought. The fury seeps out of her as the blood of the man pools around her feet. Her father ruffles her hair and gruffly tells her, _"Good job, baby girl. Your mother would be proud." _And as they melt into the shadows together, she comes to a conclusion. Things like rage don't last forever. But she's fairly certain things like **regret** do.

* * *

**Hope**

She is fifteen and wants to jump up and down giddily, to dance around the apartment, to shout euphorically from the rooftops. Instead she sits across the coffee table from _**The Freakin' Batman**_, hands folded in her lap and back straight, as her mother pours Green Arrow (Green Arrow!) a cup of tea. The suffocating dread she had previously felt when she had found the pair at her doorstep has dissolved into a something she hasn't dared to feel in forever. Green Arrow has done most of the talking; how the Justice League is aware of her "nighttime activities" and was impressed by her skill (_Did he just say __The Justice League__?)_, but she can't keep doing this solo gig. _"There's a young team of covert operations…it's the perfect opportunity…have you pose as my niece…we want you to join." _She tunes in and out of his speech, as if she can only take in so much information before she becomes catatonic. Her mom is nodding eagerly and Green Arrow is smiling widely and she feels breathless and so, completely overwhelmed at this chance that she is being offered. After all is said and done, Batman and Green Arrow stand to leave and The Caped Crusader turns and gives her a long studying look that has her fidgeting with her hair before she catches herself. _"We believe in you Artemis."_ His voice is flat and he turns away without another word, but she can feel something bloom in her chest and spread throughout her being, and it's been so long since she's had the chance to hope.

* * *

**Joy**

She is sixteen and filthy and exhausted, sweat and blood mingling together to stain her uniform, but she can't stifle the joy that rises up when she sees that rest of her team, while bruised and beat up, is alive. They all splinter off, each going to nurse their own wounds in private, but hours later they come together again, seeking nothing but each other's company and the reassurance that they are all _**there and okay**_. M'gann is floating over with her trademark plate of cookies and Robin snags one as he vaults over the couch onto the floor next to Conner, who's listening intently as Kaldur explains what sounds like the Alantean equivalent of soccer. She curls contentedly into the couch, quietly watching as M'gann puts in the DVD (_when had they decided on a movie?). _The Martian girl takes a seat on the couch behind Connor and she drowsily observes as he reaches up to meet the hand that is reaching for him. She wonders what that must be like, the certainty that someone will always be there to meet your hand. Suddenly there is soft gust of wind and Wally is sitting between her and M'gann, a bowl of popcorn in his lap. She tells herself she moves closer to get the popcorn, but something heats her cheeks when he drapes an arm along the back of the couch, accidentally brushing her shoulder. As the movie begins, she feels her head tilt forward and her eyes droop and something warm is supporting her sleepy form, but all she can think before sleep overtakes her completely, is that she can't imagine being any _happier_ than she is right in this moment.

* * *

**Love**

She is eighteen and she is _**everything**_. Scared, Sad, Infuriated, Optimistic, and Ecstatic. She can't stop crying as her friends gather around her and the idiot lying in the medical bay bed. His beautiful emerald eyes have **finally** opened as his brain releases him from the coma he has been in for two weeks. She wants to slap him for his recklessness, speeding into the path of Posion Ivy's dangerous, bloodthirsty plants to save Zatanna. She wants to yell at him for not waking up sooner, being an inconvenience and making everyone nervous. She wants to verbally tear him apart just for being _him_. Instead she weeps uncontrollably his first words: _"Hey Beautiful." _She is inconsolable for an embarrassingly long time and her friends have the decency to leave the two alone, so the archer can gain her composure. The redhead confined to the bed watches her solemnly, saying nothing, and holding her hand tightly as she cries. After what feels like forever, her sobs subside and become sniffles and she sighs and climbs into bed next to him. He kisses the top of her head and encircles her waist with his familiar grip. They lay like this for a while and she wonders when the loud-mouthed boy who drove her crazy became her entire world. _"You can't do that again," _she mumbles against his chest, feeling the anxiety and sleeplessness of the past two weeks catching up to her. _"I need you. You can't leave me like that." _He is quiet for so long that she thinks he has slipped back in to a coma. She is about to shift and check when he speaks. _"I'll never leave you. I can't. You're…just everything. No matter what, I'll always be around Arty. That's a promise." _And despite everything she has learned and experienced, she believes him. Her heart seems to pound in her ears and she can feel that glowing, sappy feeling she gets whenever Wally says something romantic. Something that makes her feel cherished. Something that makes her feel _**loved**_. _"I love you," _she murmurs into his chest, feeling her conscious slip away into dreams. His low steady voice is last thing she hears. _"I love you Artemis."_

* * *

**My first published story! Whoo! I hope you enjoy and you should let me know if I should continue this as a two shot with Wally next. I already have some ideas for Wally, but first you have to tell me. You know how you could do that? By reviewing! I do so love to hear feedback. ;) **_  
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